 Fellow artist Dimple Patel kindly invited me to present at the final Artreach INC social event, alongside Nayaab Mahomed, also a local Leicester based artist who i have known through her work with the Illuminate community group that hold regular workshops at the Attenborough Arts Centre where I work at weekends.
More details about the event below. Reconnect with nature as we explore our personal relationship with the natural world, and how creatives and creative organisations can bring that connection into their work in meaningful ways. Together, we’ll reflect on how small, intentional acts can contribute to climate action without being extractive or overwhelming. We’ll hear from two of our INC members at different stages of their journeys: Mita Solanky is a nature-based artist with a PhD in Physics, whose practice spans across disciplines. She uses walking practice as a way of tuning into the world around us. She encourages us to slow down, notice more deeply and critically, to see what becomes possible when we reconnect with the natural world. Nayaab Mahomed is a recent fashion graduate navigating an industry in urgent need of transformation. Through preserving textile craft, particularly indigenous techniques and quiet activism, she is exploring how to honour both creativity and the environment while working within one of the world’s most resource-intensive and polluting sectors. We'll start with a slow, guided walk around the local area led by Mita - an opportunity to awaken your senses and notice the subtle shifts of the season through a short physical journey to the venue. Through open and honest conversation with both artists, we will reflect on how creative practice can generate climate action in personal and sustainable ways. A delicious vegan and vegetarian lunch will be provided along with tea and coffee. When? Friday 24 April Where? Leicester Print Workshop How to book: Click here to find out more and reserve your spot! Please reserve your space by Friday 17 April at 5pm.  Artist and Friend Jo Dacombe has released the last issue of the IMMINENT magazine of contemporary art and poetry, I've had the generous opportunity to contribute to the zine in this issue, please see To get a copy please see the link here. more details below...
Issue 12 - turning red, was created in the autumn of 2025, and is inspired by the phenomenon of changing colours in the natural world. As one season turns towards the next, the issue starts with a poem by Anna Reckin, ‘On Turning Red’. The zine includes poems by Penelope Shuttle, ‘it might have been a pebble from the path’ and ‘when times are hard’, writing and artwork by Jo Dacombe, cover photo by Andy Postlethwaite, and ‘Sound Canvas’ by Jennifer Spector. ‘Sleep Walks - Red Ochre’ is an image adapted from an original oil on linen artwork by Saintly Amok. You can read more about the ideas and the artists and poets that have been published in IMMINENT in Jo's blog at jodacombe.blogspot.com.  My dear friend and fellow nature lover and artist Usha invited me to be part of a film festival being curated by herself and Raffa, of Mammoth - a climate action cinema in Nottingham.
And I am delighted to share that a short video i created to record an installation at the 'Being Wild' artist residency in Charnwood Forest in 2023 will be shown alongside work by other artists local to or connected to Nottinghamshire. The festival will have a few showings throughout the year at different venues in Nottingham. The premier is taking place at: Mammoth - 25 Broad St, Nottingham NG1 3AP Thursday 31st July @ 7pm - 9pm Info and Tickets @ https://mammothcinema.co.uk/Event/154358  FRUIT ROUTES Fruit Thinning Day
& LAGS pickling Demos Friday 11th July 12pm-2pm LAGS session 2pm-4pm FREE - ALL WELCOME book your place here Loughbourough University meet at the Barefoot Orchard, next to the paddock, and nearly opposite the Pilkington Library, look for the fenced off Geography Weather Station The Gardens Team at Loughborough Uni will be thinning the fruit trees after they naturally shed some of their fruit in early summer. The team are inviting the Fruit Routes Community, the public, staff and students to come along and help thin fruit to create a healthier autumn crop. Please bring along your own tub/bag to take home any fruit you want to use! And if you want some ideas of what to do with the unrip fruit, then why not come along to the LAGS Garden session where we will share our tips and recipes and maybe watch a demo on pickling or making something edible from the unripe fruits. I've been invited by the wonderful Anne-Marie Culhane to attend the Walking Forest women's one day camp at the Outwoods in Leicestershire. I'll be connecting and sharing with other women who are working with trees, nature, communites and stand up for earth care.
 I was invited by the wonderful Mita Pujara to run a workshop for SPARK Arts at their 'Have your Say' event programme at DMU Gallery as part of Leicester Riverside Festival. It was a special day working alongside many talented artists. The image above is an illustration by artist Julia capturing the day's moments. I ran a workshop making origami seed pots, which we seeded using the companion planting method. I led an intention ceremony to mark the close of the day and the start of what may emerge from the seeds that we'd planted.
 image courtesy ArtReach Leicester Fruit Routes will host a visit from the IMPACT Network for Creatives run by Art Reach Leicester. The Impact Network for Creatives (INC) aims to help people demonstrate their impact in the cultural sector and build their resilience. INC is for anyone who seeks to create change and achieve impact for people, organisations, and/or communities through creative work. This includes socially-engaged artists, creative producers, arts administrators, events managers, cultural leaders and entrepreneurs (including graduates), and education or learning practitioners and facilitators. Funded places are available for INC members, funded by the UKSPF via Leicester City Council. To be eligible for a funded place, members must be able to provide a registered office or workspace within the Leicester City Council boundary (i.e. you pay your council tax or business rates to Leicester City Council) when signing up. Members outside of the Leicester City Council boundary can attend events for a modest fee. You might be working freelance, self-employed, an employee in a micro-entity, SME, or a large cultural operation, or a graduate of cultural studies looking to enter the creative workforce. The design and approach of INC builds on our experience and strong track record of supporting creative and cultural professionals for over 20 years in Leicester and across the country in areas such as fundraising, business planning, and monitoring and evaluation. to join the network see the link here |
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